Caught Up
by starryeyes-gh
Summary: Lulu returns home from two months in Paris to face the two men she has loved most with a secret. **CHAPTER SIX NOW POSTED**
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE:

"_Passengers, please remain seated and fasten your seatbelts as we will be landing in about twenty minutes…."_

Lulu Spencer took a deep breath and felt her heart rate crescendo in her chest. _Twenty minutes. _Twenty minutes until she would be home. She longed for two more months… just two more months to be in Paris, working for Kate and living with her mother. Two more months without having to see Dante; two more months to wrap her mind around everything that had happened.

She thought back to her last night in Port Charles. June had seemed so far away when Kate asked her to go to Paris for two months. The most painful part of the idea was being away from Dante for eight entire weeks. What she soon realized was that her boss was doing her boyfriend a favor by sending her across the world for business.

**

"_It's just all of the craziness going on in my life right now," he admitted softly, lacing his fingers around her, "I know asking Kate to send you to Paris instead of Maxie was manipulative, but I love you enough to know that being around me right now will only hurt you."_

"_You can't hurt me," she responded, her voice whinier than she had planned, "I get that you need time with your family… your whole world was just turned upside down. I can give you some space to figure it out without leaving the continent."_

_His lips curled into a grin that she recognized. He was always very transparent in his love for her stubborn behavior. "And other any other circumstances, I would have let the idea go. But it's not just another continent… it's Paris. You can spend time with your mom and do whatever kind of fashion stuff that will help your career. You can live your life without worrying about me until I figure out how to process everything."_

"_So I go to Paris and you stay here, but what happens to us?" she questioned, "Do you think we're just going to fizzle out like some high school kids that go off to different colleges or something?"_

"_No, not like that," he argued, "We go our separate ways for a few months and deal with our lives. And you'll be back in June. If my life is back together and you think I'm good enough, you can ask me out."_

"_Don't make stupid jokes while you're breaking up with me," she interjected, fighting tears and turning to anger for comfort. "If you're going to push me away for my own good, you should know you're definitely not the first person to do so. I get that a lot, so I know exactly what the secret code language means."_

"_I love you, Lulu," he repeated, "So, yeah… I guess this is the only way I can help you. But I will be here when you come back."_

_**_

Knowing that Dante would be there now was not as comforting as he had meant it to be. Instead, it put a knot in her stomach. Facing him after what happened the last night she was in town would be difficult. She actually found herself praying that she would find him in the arms of some other woman. It would make the explanation a lot less painful.

As the plane began to descend on the place she knew as home, the knot in her stomach turned into a wave of nausea, another reminder of the mistakes she had made. She closed her eyes and went back to her last night in Port Charles.

**

"_Mmm… another of this thing, whatever it is," she giggled as she held an empty shot glass up for Coleman to see._

"_You sure you need another? I'm going to have to call you a cab, you know…" Coleman answered, taking the glass from her and refilling it._

"_I do… need more," she clarified, "Because I'll be away for two whole months. And that's two months of my life that I can't enjoy your awesome little concoctions, so I'm filling up now."_

"_Where are you going?"_

_She turned to her left, matching the voice she recognized with the face she knew very well. Her ex looked as messed up as she felt, and the beer in his hand told her that he was drowning just like she was. "Paris."_

"_To see your mom?"_

"_I will, but that's not why I'm going," she groaned, "Domin- Dante pulled strings with Kate to send me away. He says it's for my own good, that he's too messed up right now to be with me."_

"_Wow," Johnny sighed, finishing off his beer and gesturing to Coleman for another, "It's like he's related to Olivia or something."_

"_I heard about her and Sonny. I'm so sorry, Johnny."_

"_Don't be. I knew it would happen. I was just too stupid to get out of that relationship before I became some kind of victim."_

"_Still doesn't make it okay," she sighed, finishing another shot and putting the glass out for Coleman. She started to laugh. "This is kind of ironic, huh? We're both sitting here getting slammed-"_

"_Slammed? Don't you mean trashed?"_

"_Whatever… we're getting really, really inebriated over people that we fell in love with after our, well, whatever it was."_

"_Relationship," he corrected._

"_Relationship," she clarified, "I didn't think we'd ever be friends after what happened with us."_

"_You know I'll always care about you. Maybe we just needed a couple Falconeris to come around for it to become comfortable again."_

"_We were much more than comfortable."_

_He grinned. "Very true."_

_**_

When the plane came to a stop at the gate, Lulu snapped out of what had become a constant daydream since she saw the plus sign on a home pregnancy test two weeks ago. She could remember everything that led her up to a room above Jake's with Johnny. She remembered waking up the next morning in bed with him. But what she could not remember was whether or not they had used protection. And that was the missing piece that she desperately needed.

She reached into her purse and turned on her cell phone. She needed to arrange a meeting with Johnny to ask him if he remembered more than she did. But as soon as her phone powered up, it rang. It was Carly. She answered with a small groan.

"Carly…"

"Hey little Miss Paris, don't sound so annoyed. Your flight just landed, right?"

"How did you know that?"

"I have the internet, sweetie," she laughed, "I was watching the arrivals. I want my cousin at my son's graduation party that starts in about an hour, which is exactly why I sent Jax to the airport to pick you up. So look for him and let him bring you over. We'll all celebrate together."

Lulu closed her eyes and leaned against the seat, fighting another wave of morning sickness. At that moment, she couldn't think of much to celebrate.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_I'm back in town. We need to talk. On my way to Carly's –can we meet later tonight?_

Johnny looked down at his phone, read the text message from Lulu and sighed. Two months ago, he would have jumped at the chance to talk to Lulu about what had happened between them. But time had only made him more timid to approach the conversation. A lot had changed in two months time.

"Johnny, put the phone down and get over here to beat this kid, because I'm having absolutely no luck at all. Video games will never be my strong point."

He looked up at Dante, the man who had somehow become his friend even though there were hundreds of reasons they should hate one another. The biggest reason was most likely the same reason that Lulu needed to talk to him. Her last night in town should have been spent with Dante, but instead – she was in his bed.

"Is he okay?" Morgan asked, staring into Johnny's face.

"Ah… he's just intimidated," Dante assured his brother, "John – come on. Unless that text message is from some hot date I don't know about, you have no reason to check out from this party. Now Morgan is challenging you to this game, and you should take him up on it."

"No hot date," Johnny answered, sliding his phone back into his pocket. "Just an old friend."

He chastised himself for not clarifying that Lulu was the old friend. For two months, he had listened to Dante talk about how much he regretted arranging for her to be sent to Paris. He had been getting closer to his brothers and sister, but Johnny knew that Dante missed her more than he would ever admit. And now, she was going to walk in that door any minute.

"Okay, let's do this, Morgan," he grinned and took the controller from Dante.

"Dante," Carly called, walking into the room with an armful of food, "I'm offering you fair warning. My cousin is on her way here, and I realize that may be awkward for you. But she's family, just like you are, so be on your best behavior."

Johnny turned to see Dante's reaction, but before anybody could say anything more, the front door opened and Jax came in. Johnny's breath caught in his throat when Lulu walked in behind him. In that moment, he didn't know who he felt worse for: Dante or himself. At least Dante knew what his feelings for Lulu were. Johnny still hadn't figured that out.

*~*~

The rest of the party went just as Carly had wished. Morgan kept Dante occupied enough to stay away from any uncomfortable conversations with Lulu, who was almost invisible. Johnny had tried not to watch her like a hawk, but his eyes sought her out even when his mind didn't want them to. She hid in the background of the party, making small talk with Carly about Paris and disappearing upstairs every so often.

After Michael had opened his gifts and people started to disperse, Johnny started to think of ways he could get Lulu alone to talk. Her text message made it clear that she wanted that, but there was no way that Dante would understand the woman he loves wanting time alone with his friend, her ex-boyfriend.

"You do not have all of those Yankee games on tape!" Morgan's voice interrupted Johnny's thought process, "I've always wanted to see them, but it's almost impossible to find full games on the internet."

"This is old school stuff, kid," Dante smiled, "I taped them when I was a kid so my mom and I could watch them after she got done working."

"Can we watch them?"

"Well, I didn't exactly bring them tonight. But, yeah, you can come over sometime. We'll make a night of it."

"Let's do it tonight," Morgan proposed, rushing over to Carly, who was in conversation with Lulu, "Mom, can I stay at Dante's apartment tonight? And before you say no – remember that I don't have school or karate tomorrow or anything. And I just found out that Dante was my big brother a few months ago, and we need time to bond."

"Wow," Carly smiled, "You've thought about a lot of reasons, haven't you? I'm just not sure tonight's the best night…"

"But Mom, please…"

"Morgan," Dante interrupted, "Your mom is right. We have a lot of time to get to know each other…"

Johnny could tell that Dante was hoping to get some time with Lulu. His eyes were practically locked on her while he spoke to Morgan.

"Carly, let him go," Lulu jumped in, "Morgan's right. He has a right to spend time with his brother."

"Okay, fine," Carly nodded, "Just try to get some sleep tonight."

While it only took about fifteen minutes for Morgan to get his things together and leave with Dante, it felt like hours to Johnny. He could tell that something big was going on with Lulu. She would have never sent Dante away if there wasn't. While Carly and Bobbie rushed back and forth between the kitchen cleaning up, Lulu came down the stairs and captured his eye contact. She nodded and continued through the house to the back porch.

"You're still here?" Carly asked, returning to the living room and finding Johnny standing alone.

"Leaving now," he clarified. "Thanks for having me."

He grabbed his keys out of his pocket and walked out the front door only to loop around the house and meet Lulu in the backyard. He watched her pace as he approached. The look on her face made him want to hug her and assure her that everything was fine. But he could not even assure himself of that.

"Hey…" he started, unsure what else to say.

"Thanks for sticking around," she sighed, looking him square in the eye. "We need to go through everything we can remember from the last night I was in Port Charles."

"Why? You don't remember?"

"Not everything," she admitted, "Not the pieces I need to remember, at least. There was Jake's and alcohol, lots of alcohol… and then we danced and we kissed, then there was getting a room from Coleman and going upstairs…"

"We _did_ have sex if that's what you're questioning. I can't believe you don't remember that part."

"I do remember that part… kind of," she groaned, "I'll just get to the point. Do you remember using protection?"

"Protection?" That was hardly what he hoped this conversation was going to turn into. "Why? Lulu, you know you don't have to worry about me. I mean, I've been tested… believe me, after I found out Olivia had been with Sonny, I got tested again. But I'm healthy…"

"You're not answering my question, Johnny," she argued, obviously desperate for an answer.

He brought himself back to that night for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day. He remembered kissing her; he remembered them finding comfort in one another. He could see them pulling their clothes off the second they reached the room above Jake's. He could almost feel her touch on his skin. But he could not remember ever taking the moment to pull a condom out of his wallet.

"I don't think so," he admitted softly. "I mean, I don't remember using anything."

She shook her head and pressed her soft lips together, tears welling up in her eyes. "Damn it, Johnny."

"What's going on?" he asked, his heart rate accelerating so rapidly that he could feel it in his throat. He quickly let his mind float through the possibilities. What if the blood tests were wrong and he had given Lulu some kind of infection? What if their night together had only caused her more pain?

Then it hit him. All of the trips upstairs all night, the way she looked so pale whenever she returned. And she hadn't touched a drop of champagne all night.

"Oh my God. Lulu, are you pregnant?"

She didn't have to say a word. The look in her eyes told Johnny that he was right.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Lulu knew she had to break the silence. It had been at least three full minutes without one word between her and Johnny. He just stared at Carly's house, as if somehow focusing on it would pull them back three months prior, to a time when they could undo what had happened.

She wrapped her brain around every possible statement she could make in that moment. She could tell him that he didn't have to worry about it – that she didn't want him in the child's life. But she knew Johnny too well to ever want him to make that kind of sacrifice. When she had pictured that moment, the moment she would admit that she was pregnant, she always saw herself apologizing for not taking the responsibility to prevent it. However, now that she was in the moment, it was the last thing she could imagine saying.

"I'm going to be a father…" Johnny muttered, taking the pressure off of her shoulders.

"Probably," she nodded, "I mean, we don't know for sure. But the whole unprotected sex thing certainly puts the odds in your favor – not that it is a favor, I mean… it's not a race or a contest. You probably don't want to be the father. I didn't really even want to be a mother, so I would never just assume you wanted a baby…"

"Breathe," he interrupted, taking a seat on the swing set. "Just – slow down. I don't want to make any assumptions myself, but I'm guessing that there's a possibility that the baby isn't mine."

She nodded and joined him on the next swing. "You guessed correctly. And not that it's ever something I thought I'd have to share with you, but Dante and I always used protection."

He shook his head before laying it in his hands. "I'm not making excuses here, but aren't you taking something to prevent this kind of thing?"

"Not that it's any of your business," she started, "But I stopped after you and I broke up. It was kind of an unnecessary expense."

"How stupid could I have been?" he groaned. "I had a condom in my wallet. I mean, I know we were seriously drunk, but that's not really a good enough reason…"

"Don't blame yourself," she placed her hand on his shoulder, "We were both incredibly stupid."

"Dante is going to hate us," he sighed, "I've been listening to him go on and on about you for months and I never said a word about that night. I was hoping I would never have to."

Lulu frowned. He was having the exact same fears about Dante's emotions that she had been agonizing over since she found out she was pregnant. "Since when do you care what Dante thinks?"

"I don't know… we're friends now or something like that. We were both pissed about Olivia and Sonny. Then there's the mutual hatred we have for our fathers. I guess we just understand one another."

"And he's been talking about me?" she asked, knowing it was not the right time to try and dig into how her ex felt about her.

"No offense, Lulu, but I really don't want to get into that right now."

"Sorry," she whispered, pulling her hand away from its perch on his shirt and placing it absentmindedly on her lap. Before that night, she would have done anything to know that Dante had pined away for her the whole time she was in Paris. But now, the knowledge only augmented the guilt she was feeling for sleeping with Johnny.

"So…" he started, obviously unsure of how to phrase what was on his mind, "Have you made any decisions yet?"

"You know," Lulu started, bracing her hands on the chain of the swing and twisting her body to face him, "When I got pregnant the first time, I was barely 18 years old. I had tricked Dillon into sleeping with me, but he was still so excited about raising a baby. And aside from the whole being way too young to have a baby thing, it would have worked. His family had money, and Nikolas was going to let me move in there. But I knew it wasn't right, that I couldn't take care of a child. So I made it go away, and I can't say part of me doesn't regret it, but I know it was the right decision."

"You made the best decision you could," he reassured, looking up to face her.

She shrugged her shoulders. "The funny thing is, this time around – it's complicated. I don't know for sure whose baby I'm carrying. Sure, I have a job, but I still haven't gotten myself back into college or even really figured out what to do with my life. I'm single and live in an apartment that I can't afford anymore ever since Maxie moved in with Spinelli. And there are a lot of things I'd rather be doing than preparing a nursery and touring day care centers. But from the moment my mom caught me sneaking a home pregnancy test into her condo… I knew that I was going to keep this baby. Even if it's messy."

"Have you been in to see a doctor?"

Lulu could tell that Johnny was relieved by her decision. She knew him well enough to know that his changing the subject was a tactic to hide any excitement that he may have been feeling.

"In Paris," she nodded, "Two weeks ago. Everything was fine, but I'm going to make an appointment at General Hospital soon. My mom was pretty adamant about that."

"And how soon until we can do a paternity test?"

"I don't know for sure," she answered, "But from what I've read on the Internet, not soon enough. I'm going to tell Dante everything, and then we'll have to wait."

"And you're sure you want to tell him before we know for sure who the father is?"

"I have to," she insisted, "Both of my brothers have been in situations where they didn't know if a child was theirs. And in both cases, I hated my nephews' mothers for lying about it. I promised myself I would never be in that situation… but now I am."

"Well, believe me, I don't judge you for anything."

"Dante will," she shook her head, "And right now, nothing terrifies me more than to see that look in his eyes when I tell him that I slept with you. But I've talked through it with my mom over and over again, and she's right. Telling the truth is the only thing I can do to help all of us get through this."

"What can I do? To help?"

She offered him a small smile. No matter what had happened between them, Lulu knew that Johnny would always do right by her. He was a good man, even if he made bad choices most of the time.

"That's sweet, but I have to deal with this. And please don't feel like I expect anything of you… I am completely prepared to get through this pregnancy and raise the baby on my own. It's not fair to expect you to change your life."

"That's awfully diplomatic of you, Lulu, but I want to help. And I'll start by taking you to the hospital tomorrow to get checked out and taking care of all the medical bills."

"No," she disagreed, "That's absolutely unnecessary. And besides, I can't go to the doctor tomorrow. Kate's throwing a huge gala to celebrate Maxie's new position as assistant editor. I have to help prepare it all day and then be there all night."

"Are you sure you should be working such long hours?"

"Are you sure you want to act so overprotective?" she replied quickly, "Because you should know that usually makes me do the exact opposite of what is being asked of me."

"You win," he sighed, "But Maxie did invite me to the party, so don't expect me not to check up on you. There's a good chance you're carrying my child. That gives me a right to care about your well-being."

"Fine," she agreed, "Just don't broadcast that sentiment to anybody until I can talk to Dante. I want him to hear about the pregnancy from me."

Johnny stood up and offered her his hand, pulling her into a friendly embrace.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to say anything."

What neither of them saw was Michael standing behind a tree on the side of the yard. He had heard the tail-end of their conversation and immediately knew what he was going to do about it.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"Morgan, slow down or you're going to break something!" Dante warned as his brother as he watched him run through Carly's living room and up the stairs. "If it takes two extra minutes for us to get to the movies, we're only going to miss a couple of previews."

He took a seat on the couch and laid his head against it. He was beyond exhausted. Ever since Morgan had learned that Dante was his brother, he had a constant drive to find things they could do together, as if they could somehow make up for missed time. Dante loved every minute of it, but he was distracted that day. Lulu was back in Port Charles, and from the breakfast they had at Kelly's to the walk on the pier after going to the batting cages, he was waiting to run into her… hoping that they could talk.

"Dante – do you have a minute?"

He looked up and saw Michael coming down the stairs. While he and Morgan continued to get close, Michael continued to hate Dante. Sonny and Olivia had pushed for the two of them to spend time together, but Michael refused. He was unable to see past his newfound older brother's plan to arrest their father.

"Sure, Michael, but Morgan and I are going to try and catch a movie here soon."

"Well, this won't take too long," Michae replied. Dante could hear the contempt in his voice. He knew this was not going to be a pleasant conversation.

"I don't want to fight, man."

"Oh, this has nothing to do me and you," Michael continued, "Except for the fact that I wanted to be the one to tell you that even Lulu can't stand you."

Dante stood up to face his brother. "Those sure sound like fighting words."

"You could stay here and fight with me, or you could face the real problem and stand up for yourself like a man. Not that I believe you can… you like to hide in the background, detective."

"What are you talking about?"

"Lulu stayed here last night. You and Morgan left, and she stayed to talk to Johnny. I went to bed… didn't think much of it. A few hours later, I got up to get something to drink. I walked in on their conversation."

The thought of Lulu and Johnny catching up for hours irritated Dante. He should have been the one to talk to her. He loved her, not Johnny.

"So they were talking… they have a history. They can be friends," Dante argued.

"It's what they were talking about that you won't like. It turns out you're not just giving my father some new successor by showing up in town, but you're going to give him a grandchild."

_Grandchild?_ It took Dante a minute to process the thought, but once it hit him, he felt his cheeks turn white. "Lulu's pregnant?"

His mind flashed back to the last night he had spent in bed with Lulu. His stomach dropped when he remembered realizing that the condom they had used had broken. He was so sure that they would be fine – that one small miscalculation would not complicate the relationship that they were building on such a firm foundation. Now that the foundation was severely cracked, a baby could do one of two things: either bring them together again or tear them apart.

"Yeah, but don't get too excited," Michael interrupted his thoughts, "See, Lulu's going to tell everybody that Johnny's the baby's father."

Dante couldn't find the words to respond to that particular claim. It made no sense - he was a cop. Johnny was in the mob. He took care of Lulu, loved her… Johnny broke her heart. There was no reason that it would be preferable for Lulu to hide her child, _their child_ behind Johnny.

"You probably don't get it, so I'll spell it out for you," Michael continued, "You see, Lulu told Johnny all about how you broke her heart. She told him that you were obviously the rebound relationship she had to have before she could realize that he was the person she needed to be with. But telling people that he's the father – that was Johnny's idea. He made up this whole story about how they had been seeing each other for weeks behind your back before she left."

Dante's jaw tightened in anger. His mind was racing. He was going to be a father, but Johnny, his so-called friend, was going to take that all away from him.

"He's bringing her to the Crimson gala tonight. They're going to tell people that they're having a baby before you can find out and call them out on it."

"How do I know you're not just making this up to piss me off, Michael?" Dante asked, desperately clinging to hope that Lulu hadn't moved on.

"Go to the Metro Court and see it for yourself. I'll take Morgan to the movies."

Dante shook his head and walked to the stairs. "Hey Morgan, can you get down here please?"

Morgan came rushing down the stairs with a handful of candy. "I raided my secret stash, and I think we can sneak it in."

"Is it alright if I take a rain check on the movies, kid?" Dante asked, "Michael said he can bring you. I just have an errand that I have to run."

*~*~

It took Dante exactly twenty-seven minutes to go home, change into a suit and get to the Metro Court. He knew he would not be on the guest list for the party, so he grabbed his badge from his dresser just in case. The whole time he was driving, his mind raced with possibilities. He prayed that Michael was lying, but his story made sense.

He pictured Lulu's face when she realized that she was pregnant. She must have felt so shocked and betrayed at the same time. She didn't know that the condom had broken. She probably hated him even more for keeping that from her. And that hatred could have very well led her to find some way to keep him out of life, even if that meant lying.

He left his car with the valet and rushed into the hotel. As he figured, he had to claim he was there on police business to get in the door. The party was crawling with cameras. Kate did not do anything small, and this night certainly would not be an exception.

His eyes scanned the crowd. He was trained for spotting people in crowded environments, but every second that passed without him finding Lulu or Johnny made him angrier. When his gaze finally caught her, his breath caught in his throat. There she was, wearing a beautiful green dress that hugged her curves in all the right places, standing next to Johnny and smiling at him. The part of him that doubted Michael's claims was gone when he was Johnny's hand reach out and touch the small of her back. Without hesitation, he pushed his way through the crowd and approached them.

"You lying piece of garbage!" he screamed letting his impulse take over when he reached Johnny. He grabbed his suit jacket and drove his fist directly into the other man's jaw.

"Dante!" Lulu gasped, but her voice didn't stop his rage. He let every ounce of fear and frustration running through him take charge as he shoved Johnny against the bar and hit him again.

"You knew how much Lulu means to me! You heard me talk about loving her and missing her for months, you bastard!"

Before he could throw another punch, he felt two sets of hands grab his shoulders and pull him back. He didn't even take the time to look back and see who was intervening before he continued his verbal attack.

"How could you step in and take her away from me? Take my own child away from me?!"

He noticed Johnny's face change from shock to guilt.

"What? You're not even going to deny it!? Don't even think you're going to get away with it! I will not step aside and watch you tell the world that you're the father of my baby!"

"Your baby?" Johnny questioned, his voice full of defensive frustration, "There is no way to be sure whose baby it is!"

At this point, the entire crowd was circling around the scene. Cameras were flashing as Jax and Jason held Dante back and Johnny wiped blood from his lips. Dante let Johnny's statement sink in and finally turned his attention to Lulu. Tears stained her eyes as the color drained from her face.

"I'm so sorry, Dante," she whispered.

"I – I don't get it…"

"We were drunk," Johnny explained, "And it only happened once."

"You cheated on me?" his voice softened to the point that it was cracking as he spoke. His eyes were locked on Lulu.

"It was the night before I left… I never meant for any of this to happen."

"And you're having a baby?"

Lulu nodded before Carly shoved her way through the crowd to stand by her cousin's side. "Okay – the party is over, people! Everybody out, now!"

Dante felt like his whole world had just crumbled down around him. He shook his head before staring down at the ground and walking away. He couldn't say or do anything in that moment to make him feel like he could breathe again.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

"Lulu – time to wake up," Carly called from behind her guest room door. She juggled the bowl of oatmeal and glass of water in her hands to open the door.

"I'm awake," Lulu groaned from under the comforter on the bed. She had been in that bed almost non-stop for over a week, only getting up for necessary trips to the bathroom or the shower. Within minutes of the scene at the gala, the entire story had been picked up by ever fashion critic's blog that mattered. Fifteen minutes after that, she had been fired from _Crimson_. She couldn't even blame Kate for doing it. Her situation would most definitely detract from any momentum the magazine had picked up over the past few months.

"Well, nobody would know if I didn't come up here to force feed you three times a day," Carly sighed, bringing her food and setting it on the nightstand. "Even then, you won't talk to me about what you're feeling. I don't get anything more than a tearful groan."

"Sorry," she admitted, sitting up in the bed and running her fingers through her hair. "I've been pretty rude, huh?"

"I know you're going through a rough time, sweetie," Carly told her, "So it's okay to lock yourself away from the world for a few days. But it's been eight days, and Morgan is getting way too good at getting rid of your visitors. I'm worried he might become a bouncer if I don't get him into another line of work around the house."

"Visitors?" Lulu questioned, picturing reporters showing up to the house, looking for a statement for the young _Crimson_ employee in a "who's the daddy" love triangle between the sons of Sonny Corinthos and Anthony Zacchara. It was the exact kind of tabloid story that Maxie would have gone on about for hours.

"Actually, Sonny stopped by a few times, and then there was Maxie and Spinelli. Johnny's come over every single day."

"What about Dante?" Lulu asked, her voice full of hope. She needed to know if Dante had any interest in speaking to her ever again. His face had haunted her thoughts ever since she left the Metro Court that night. His dark eyes were lost in his heartbreak when he found out about her night with Johnny. He harbored more hurt than she would have ever wanted for her worst enemy. She had to live with that fact that she did that. She crushed the man she loved by betraying on him.

Carly shook her head. "Sorry. But you could always try to call him yourself."

"I don't even know what I would say," Lulu sighed. "You saw how hurt he was… I don't think he'll ever want to talk to me again."

Before Carly could argue her point, the door opened and Morgan came rushing in with a large gift box. "This came in the mail for you, Lulu. I bet it's from Dante."

"I sincerely doubt that," Lulu groaned.

"That was very sweet of you to bring that upstairs, Morgan. Now set it down and go get ready for baseball practice," Carly told her son, shooting Lulu a disapproving glance.

"Morgan, I'm sorry," Lulu added quickly as the boy rushed out of the room.

"You need to crawl out of the hole you're stuck in before my kids get scared of you. Now, I'm going to bring Morgan to practice and go into work to help Jax out. My mom has Jocelyn for the day, and Michael is with Kristina. You have the house to yourself, so feel free to get out of that bed."

"Don't hold your breath," she sighed, taking a sip of water before returning the glass to the nightstand and burying her face back into her pillow. She waited until she heard the door open, then close before rolling over and grabbing her Blackberry from the nightstand drawer. No e-mails, no text messages and no missed phone calls. She was off of everybody's radar, which was exactly what she had wished for after the gala.

She pressed speed dial number one and watched his name come up on the screen. All she had to do was press the green button to put the phone call through. But she decided the chances of him pressing that same green button on his phone to answer were slim to none. She could send him a text message… something simple like "We should talk" or "I'm sorry." But was apologizing to the man you loved for sleeping with your ex and getting pregnant an appropriate sentiment for that medium? She could hear Maxie chastising her for being insensitive. An e-mail was hardly a step up.

She rolled her eyes and placed the phone back into the drawer, slamming it shut as if its disappearance would resolve all of her problems. She heard Carly's van pull out of the driveway and decided that she would give into her curiosity. She slipped her feet off of the bed, shivering when she felt the cold floor underneath her for the first time in hours. She moved to the package Morgan had carried in. It was covered in yellow paper, obviously a baby gift. But there was no return address on it.

A smile formed on her lips. It had to be from her mother; she had most likely read about the fiasco at the _Crimson_ party online and decided to cheer her up. She peeled the paper off of the box and removed its cover.

"Oh wow…" she gasped, removing a beautiful white teddy bear. She looked down and found a card amidst a sea of tissue paper. She opened the card and her excitement quickly turned to trepidation.

*~*~

Johnny walked into the PCPD and marched straight up to the desk. "Hi, I'm John Zacchara. Commissioner Scorpio called and asked me to come down here."

"The commissioner is in the interrogation room right now. Take a seat and we'll let you know when he's ready for you."

Johnny nodded and took a seat. The police station was far from his favorite place on earth, and it was never a good sign when the commissioner requested his presence. His only comfort was that he might be able to distract himself from everything going on in his life at the moment. Lulu had locked herself away from the world, which was understandable. She felt guilty and scared; he felt worse for putting her in that situation. Guilt was actually far from his only emotion where Lulu was concerned.

He had questioned his feelings for her ever since he woke up next to her in the room above Jake's. He kept hoping that it was just loneliness, that somehow he would find somebody else that was not his ex-girlfriend – somebody that was not the love of his friend's life. But could she really be that to Dante when that's exactly what she was to him?

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Johnny looked up to meet Dante's angry glare. "Mac called me in… I'm not sure what it's about. Look, if I had known you were on duty, I would have skipped it."

"Why? Are you too ashamed to face me now?" Dante's voice was full of spite.

"I am sorry," Johnny told him, his voice steady, "It wasn't supposed to go down like this."

"That's priceless," Dante laughed sarcastically, "You sleep with my girlfriend, and then convince her that you should raise _our_ baby. But you never meant to hurt me… wow, you must really think I'm stupid."

Johnny frowned. He knew that he was guilty of sleeping with Lulu, but Dante's second allegation was completely false. Before he could correct the other man, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and felt relief wash over him when he saw the name on the screen.

"Excuse me, I have to get this."

"Let me guess, it's Lulu?" Dante asked, "Wow, your apology really means a lot to me, man. And to think that you're showing me how sorry you are by continuing to sleep with her."

"I haven't talked to Lulu since the gala, okay? And she's pregnant, so yeah… if she calls, you're damn right I'm going to answer!"

He pressed the button on his phone to accept the call and put the phone up to his ear, choosing to ignore Dante's protesting gaze.

"Lulu, hi…"

"Can you come over to Carly's right away?" Lulu spit out, the words spilling out of her mouth.

"Is everything okay?"

"No, it's not," she answered, "Your father knows I'm pregnant."

Johnny felt the blood drain from his face. In all of the emotion he was feeling about being a father, he had completely neglected to consider Anthony's affect on the situation.

"Yeah, I'm on my way. Just… just try to stay calm."

He hung up the phone and looked at Dante, noting that the other man was equally as concerned.

"I have to go to Carly's. Lulu needs help," he explained, standing up and shoving his phone in his pocket. "You need to come with me."


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

"So this is all he sent?" Dante questioned, holding the card in his hands that Anthony sent Lulu in his hands. "It didn't come in any kind of special packaging or anything?"

It was easier for him to turn to the cop part of him in that moment than to let his emotions get the best of him. Standing in that living room with Lulu and Johnny brought up enough hurt and anxiety to make him crazy. He did not know how to handle that. But he could handle a case. And as much anger as he harbored for two people he was supposed to be close to, Lulu still had his heart. She was in trouble.

"It came in a box with a stuffed animal," Lulu answered. "It's upstairs."

"I'm gonna need to see everything," Dante told her, completely avoiding eye contact my focusing in on the words scribbled on the greeting card. _So glad to hear you and John reunited._ Anthony was the only one. Once he heard Lulu's footsteps go up the stairs, he handed the card to Johnny.

"Do you recognize this handwriting?"

Johnny took the card and let out a low groan. "It's my father's. Smug bastard… he has messed with Lulu's head ever since I met her. But this here – sending a threat to a pregnant woman – this is downright cruel."

"Is there anything in the wording that sticks out to you as significant?"

"Lulu, so glad to hear you and John reunited. There's no doubt my grandchild will be attractive with such a beautiful vessel. I am relieved that it was not wasted on Sonny's offspring. Of course – if that possibility were to come true, you would be less than useful to me," Johnny read, and then threw the card down on the table. "It definitely sounds like him… you're the cop, so I'm sure you can see the threat in this."

"Here it is," Lulu announced, carrying in the box from Anthony with the teddy bear inside. "Just a stuffed bear and some tissue paper. I actually thought it was from my mom before I found the card."

Dante immediately pulled the plush toy from the box and examined it. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a Swiss army knife and shoved it into the bear, dragging it across the torso. He worked methodically while Anthony's words rang through his head. He had seen Anthony Zacchara's operation from the inside. The man was deranged, and he hated that his sights were on Lulu.

His suspicions were confirmed when he pulled out an envelope from the carcass of the toy. When he removed the contents, he felt his stomach turn. He was holding photographs of Johnny kissing the woman he loved at Jake's. His pace accelerated as he flipped through the pictures. There were pictures of them at Michael's graduation party and at the gala.

Without a word, he handed the photos to Johnny. "Your dad is having you watched."

It took only a few seconds for the color to drain from Lulu and Johnny's faces when they saw the pictures. They handled the shock in very different ways. He crumpled the pictures into a ball while Lulu's hand covered her mouth before rushing out of the room. Every instinct Dante had to follow her out of the room vanished when he saw her kissing Johnny.

"Look, I know that this cannot be easy for you," Johnny started, "But you're the cop here. I need you to step up and do the right thing."

"And what exactly is the right thing, Johnny?" Dante asked, offended by the accusation that he was somehow doing the wrong thing. He watched the other man pace the room, obviously struggling with formulating what was going through his head into words.

"Claim the baby as your own and be with Lulu," he choked out, obviously sickened by the thought.

"Claim the baby?" Dante seethed, "That obviously is your solution to any problem… who gives a damn about DNA, right, John? The worst part is that somehow you got Lulu to go along with it!"

"Go along with what?" Johnny questioned defensively.

"Your ridiculous plan to tell everybody that it's your baby!"

"Okay, Dante, we can go through all of this again. Lulu and I got drunk at Jake's. We had unprotected sex and now she's pregnant. And, yeah, we don't know anything about the paternity right now. But there's a damn good chance that our drunken night made that baby. I did not have to talk Lulu into claiming anything. Believe me, having a child was pretty much the last thing I ever wanted! Where the hell did you get this idea in your head?"

Dante was ready to accuse Johnny of more lies when his glance moved to the mantle above Carly and Jax's fireplace. There was a framed picture of Michael, and that's when he realized that Michael had no reason to tell him the truth. In fact, he probably took some kind of sick pleasure in watching Dante explode on everybody he cared about because of his lie.

"Michael," he said softly, shaking his head.

"Look, I am completely aware that there is a chance the baby could be yours," Johnny continued, "But Lulu and I didn't use protection, and you're a good guy. I'm sure you were a hell of a lot more responsible than I was."

"Your logic is kind of ironic," Dante shook his head, a small smile forming on his lips, "Because it's exactly the reason I've been convinced that the baby is mine."

"What do you mean?"

"Without going into too much detail, there was one time that we weren't _totally_ safe."

"Well, then I guess we're just stuck in limbo until we can get a DNA test," Johnny replied. "But Dante, as much as you hate me right now, you have to be concerned. My father is not going to back off. He's always been obsessed with me as some sort of heir, and a grandchild is only going to make it worse. The only way to keep Lulu and the baby safe is for me to back off and let everybody think the baby is yours, no matter what the truth is."

Dante considered what Johnny was proposing. It was everything he wanted – he would be with Lulu again. They would raise her baby together and build a family. But the cop inside of him could not drop it at that.

"You're looking at this backwards," he shook his head, "Your dad's only reason for keeping Lulu alive at this point is because she is carrying _your_ baby, or at least that's what he is thinking. He sees her as some kind of package for his heir. So if all the sudden he finds out it's all a lie, that the baby is mine… _Sonny's_ grandchild, he's going to get really mad, really fast."

"I guess you're right, but according to that logic, Lulu is in danger no matter what once the baby is born."

"That's why you have to convince him that Lulu is somehow necessary," Dante continued, piecing it together in his head. He hated every single word that was about to come out of his mouth. It took every fiber of his being to breathe before he could explain. "We need to convince Anthony and everybody else that you are the baby's father and that the two of you are going to raise the baby together."

"What?" Lulu's voice invaded their conversation. "No, not a chance... Anthony Zacchara is not going to dictate my life."

Dante turned to face her. She was paler than he'd ever seen her. He guessed it was probably a combination of some sort of morning sickness and fear. Even sick, she still took his breath away. Her hair was swept back into a loose bun and she had changed into an old sweatshirt. His resolve to carry out his plan was only strengthened by looking at her in that moment.

"Johnny, can I have some time to talk to Lulu alone?" he questioned, his eyes locked on Lulu, "I'll drop by the garage later to discuss this with you."

He did not focus hard enough to hear Johnny's answer. Once he heard the front door close behind Johnny, he took a seat on the couch and gestured for Lulu to join him. He found it funny that he was completely incapable of being angry with her anymore. All of his priorities had shifted.

"Look, I know that you are going to push for this, but there is no way in hell that I'm going to pretend to date Johnny for the next seven months just because Anthony has some insane idea about his grandchild," Lulu insisted, taking a seat next to him.

"Not date…" he started, and then decided it was probably not the best time to tell her she was safest if she married Johnny. Instead, he took the opportunity to clear the air. "There's something I have to tell you, something I should have told you months ago," he started, choosing to ignore her objections. "Do you remember that night we went to that horrible movie with Spinelli and Maxie?"

"Yeah, we told them you had the stomach flu so we could leave early. We went back to Kelly's because we didn't want them to hear us and know we were lying."

"Yeah, well, there was a little _mishap_ that night I never told you about. Somewhere in the midst of everything, the condom… well, it…"

"Broke?" Lulu questioned softly. "Oh, God… oh my God…"

"I'm so sorry I didn't say anything," he apologized, "I just didn't want you to be worried. I figured the likelihood of anything happening was so small."

"I'm that girl…" she shook her head, tears obviously welling in her eyes, "I had unprotected sex with not one, but _two_ men…"

"Okay, Lulu, I know this is upsetting, but you already knew that there was a chance the baby could be mine. It's out in the open… hell, my cousin called me the other day to congratulate me. Everybody knows that there's a chance I'm the father."

"I know, but it didn't seem as awful until today," she sobbed, "Because now you want Johnny to be the father so you can be noble, or because you just want nothing to do with me or something… and I don't want that. No lies about who the father is – that's why I came home! I wanted everything to be out in the open! But then you found out and there was that big fight. I was going to tell you, Dante, I swear. I only told Johnny first because I was hoping he could tell me that there was no way he was the father."

"I only got so upset because Michael lied and told me that the baby was mine," he explained, reaching his hand out to brush a tear off of her chin, "And he made me believe that Johnny was trying to get you to shut me out of the picture. The ironic thing is that Michael's lie just might be the only way to keep you and the baby safe."

"I refuse to believe it's the only way," she argued, "W-we could run away. You and me… we'll leave the county and go somewhere Anthony won't find us. I love you, Dante. Not Johnny – and if you can ever forgive me, I want to be with you."

"Hey, hey," he soothed, pulling her into a hug, "You have to calm down. You made a mistake, okay? And believe me; this plan has nothing to do with me being angry."

"I'm not going to do it," she contended.

Dante hated his profession more than ever at that moment. Arresting his father, lying to his brothers and sister for months… none of that could add up to the pain he felt knowing that the woman he loved would have to share her life and the baby she was carrying with another man. Maybe if he weren't a police officer, he could ignore the danger and take her up on the offer to run away.

"You remember what you told me when I was so mad at my mom for lying about Sonny? You said that parents lie for all sorts of reasons, but it doesn't mean that they don't love their children. Lulu, you're a mother now. I mean, the baby isn't here yet, but you have another life inside of you. Every decision that we make has to be about him or her."

His hand moved to her abdomen as he made his point. "You made me realize that my mom went through hell to keep me safe. She lied for decades and watched, knowing it would all blow up in her face someday."

"But you're completely ignoring the fact that this baby could be yours," she whispered, enlacing her fingers in his. "You're a good man. You deserve to be in its life."

"Then I'll cut you a deal," he whispered, kissing the top of her forehead. He let himself linger for a moment, taking in the aroma of her shampoo. "You promise to listen to Johnny to keep you and the baby safe until it's born, and we will re-evaluate then. But that means that you have to go along with it 100%, Lulu. We cannot let Anthony find out this is all a lie."

"I will, but your end of the deal isn't good enough," she argued, "If this baby is yours, you have to promise me that you will be the only father he or she knows. You have to swear to me that no matter what happens between you and me or with Anthony or Sonny… you have to be in our child's life."

"I'd like to see someone try to stop me," he vowed before giving her the last kiss he would be able to share with her for months.


End file.
